Graining tool



Juy 31, 1934. L'. v CAST@ l 1,968,027-

GRAINING 'I-OOL Filet?a Sept. 19. 1932 ZZ ,A F1654 @13am Mdffrm Patented July 3l, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE GRAININ G TOOL tion of Michigan Application September 19, 1932, Serial-N0. 633,732

1 Claim.

This invention relates to graining tools and more particularly to a roll adapted to transfer designs from an etched printing plate to the surfaces of objects having irregular shapes, and

s the entire areas of which are inaccessible to the ordinary type of transfer tools.

Excellent reproductions of the surface appearance of natural objects may be made on metal or other hard surfaces by means of an offset io process, such as disclosed in the Henry patent, No. 1,548,465. According to this patent a design is produced in intaglio form on a metal plate by a photo etching process. Pigment material is then applied to the plate and the excess scraped l@ DE, leaving pigment in the small interstices on the plate. This is then picked up by a transfer roll, having a uniform composition surface, and transferred to the surface to be decorated. Ordinarily, such rolls are cylindrical in form and ob- E@ viously cylindrical rolls cannot be employed satisfactorily to grain objects in which it is impossible to roll the transfer roll beyond the ends of the surfaces to be grained. An example of an article which cannot be grained satisfactorily bythe use of a cylindrical roll is an automobile window frame, which has grained inside surfaces. Heretofore it has been the practice to transfer a grain to as much of the frame as can be reached by an ordinary cylindrical roll and thereafter to fill in 3@ the ends of the various frame surfaces by a hand graining procesa-an expensive operation requiring a large amountof time and the employment of skilled labor.

The general object of my invention is to pro- @B5 vide a graining tool by which the entire surfaces of irregular objects can be grained by a single transfer, in situations where it is impossible to move the transfer beyond the ends of the surfaces to be grained. My invention contemplates 4i@ a graining tool in which the surface of the transfer material, when developed or attened out, will exactly coincide with 'the surface to be grained. The transfer material. such as gum or a glue composition, is mounted on an arcuate support so that it may be rolled over the surface to be grained, and by a single transferring operation the entire area will be finished.

A machine adapted to successfully grain such irregular surfaces and employing graining tools 5@ similar to those describedl herein is disclosed in my U .S. Patents Numbers 1,807,991 and 1,807,992, issued June 2nd, 1931.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through an automobile window frame and showing a grained window sill. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the lower portion of the window frame showing my grainixig tool, as it is employed in transferring a design to the frame. Fig. 3 is an elevation of my graining tool. Fig. 4 is a section along line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

'I'he invention will be described in'connection-v with the graining of window frames for motor cars, but it is to be understood that such description is given only as an example of an article in connection with which my graining tool may be used and must not be considered in any way as limiting the scope of the claim.

By reference to Fig. 1 of the drawing, it will be seen that the grained surface 10 of an automobile window frame is irregular in shape, having non-parallel ends as at 11 and 12, and extending upwardly adjacent the ends are vertical members'13 and 14, respectively. These members form an upright portion of the window frame and may also serve to support the glass 15, as indicated in Fig. 2, after the frame is assembled and the members 13 and 14 secured in position adjacent the ends 11 and 12 of the surface 10.

In order to provide for convenient manipulation of the tool, a handle 25 is secured to the sup- 80 porting back by any convenient means, the handle being shown in the present instance as comprising a bar or tube extending along a chord of the arc.

In operation the operator takes a transfer from a previously prepared etched plate, to which pigment has been applied, with the tool, thus obtaining the design on the gummed surface. He then applies the tool to the surface to be grained in such a manner that it will exactly coincide therewith. For example, he may start the graining operation by placing the end surface 24 of the gum adjacent the upright member 14 of the window frame, then he will line up the tool so that the edges thereof are parallel with the edges of the surface to be grained. The tool may then. be rocked or rolled over the surface and, as it has the same dimensions as the surface to be grained, it will finally be rocked to a position where the end 23 of the tool is adjacent the upright 13 and the end portions 11 of the surface to be grained.

Thus, it will be seen that it is possible to grain the entire surfaces of irregular objects by a single 105 operation of my graining tool, and that the entire -'area can be completely grained even where it is impossible to roll the tool beyond the limits of the f' surface being grained. The use of my tool does away with all hand graining or touching up operl 1 l bounded at two of its ends by non-parallel walls ating and obviously results in increased produchaving an arcuate length between the non-partion of a higher quality at greatlyreduced costs. alle! ends thereof corresponding to any straight I claim: length between said walls, said arcuate surface A tool for graining a surface, which surface is being adapted to be rocked over an intaglio printing plate or cylinder to obtain the grain design therefrom and then over the member to be grained to transfer the design thereto in one operation.

LLOYD V. CASTO.

consisting of a bodyrhaving a. smooth armiate printing surface formed of soft composition with correspondingly formed non-parallel ends and 

